Paneer 65 Recipe (Dry Version)
Crispy, crackly, and irresistibly spicy on the outside, yet soft and creamy on the inside—Paneer 65 is a mouthwatering Indian street-style vegetarian snack that's ready in just 30 minutes! Perfect with drinks!
Ingredients
For Frying The Paneer
- ¼ cup cornstarch (cornflour)
- ½ cup unsweetened rice flour
- 1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste
- 1 tablespoon kashmiri chili powder
- ½ teaspoon red chili powder (hot), adjust to taste
- ½ teaspoon cumin powder
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder
- ½ teaspoon garam masala
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ cup plain yogurt
- ¼-1/3 cup water or as needed
- 8 oz paneer cut into 1 inch cubes
- Oil for shallow frying (we need approximately 2 inches deep oil for frying)
For Tempering Fried Paneer
- 1.5 tablespoon oil or any cooking oil
- ½ teaspoon black mustard seeds or use cumin seeds
- 2-3 tablespoon garlic finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon ginger finely chopped
- 4-5 green chilies (hot), I use indian green chilies, slit lengthwise into half
- 8-10 fresh curry leaves you can tear the leaves into small pieces if you wish
- 2 tablespoon sriracha substitute with Huy Fong chili garlic sauce, adjust to taste
- 2 teaspoon ketchup optional, adjust to taste
- lemon juice to taste
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl add the cornstarch, rice flour, ginger-garlic paste and all the ground spices along with salt.
- Gradually pour water with one hand while whisking with the other to create a thick batter. Ensure the batter is thick enough to coat the paneer pieces without sliding off but it should be smooth, and flowing.Taste and adjust the salt if needed in the batter.
- Put the whisk away and add the paneer cubes to the bowl. With gentle hands or a small sized spatula, toss the paneer pieces to coat them on all sides in the batter. The paneer can break easily to be careful. Set aside to marinate for 15-20 minutes.
FRY THE PANEER
- Heat up oil for frying in a deep frying pan or kadai over medium heat. Make sure than the oil is hot but not smoky.
- Carefully, drop the batter-coated marinated paneer pieces into the hot oil one by one. Due to cornstarch, the batter tends to be sticky, so make sure that the cubes of paneer don’t stick to each together. Shallow fry in small batches to avoid overcrowding the pan.
- Fry the paneer until golden brown and crispy on all sides. Using a spoon, turn occasionally for even cooking. This should take about 2-4 minutes per batch.
- Remove the fried paneer using a slotted spoon and place on a plate lined with paper towels to absorb any excess oil.
STIR FRY THE FRIED PANEER
- Heat 1.5 tablespoons of oil in a separate medium sized pan or kadai.
- Temper the hot oil with mustard seeds and let crackle.
- Add finley chopped garlic, green chilies (slit), and fresh curry leaves. Sauté using a spatula for a few seconds until fragrant.Make sure that the garlic doesn't brown.
- Add the chilli garlic sauce and ketchup and mix. Don't dry out.
- Toss the fried paneer pieces in the tempering until evenly coated. Finish with a sqeee of fresh lemon juice. Plate and serve immediately topped with fresh onion slices! Paneer 65 is best served rightaway. You can warm up the leftovers but they wont remain crispy.
Notes
- If using store-bought paneer, soak it in warm water for 10 minutes to make it soft and succulent. Pat the paneer dry before coating it in batter.
- Use medium-hot oil to fry the paneer. If the oil is too hot, the coating may burn; too cold, and the paneer absorbs oil.
- Double Frying - For extra crunch, fry the paneer cubes once until golden, then fry them again at a higher temperature briefly.
- Many restaurants add rougly chopped onions and green bell peppers while stir frying the fried paneer, you can do so too.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!